Till I finished reading the book I didn’t realise that it was self published by the author !! Why would no publisher want to publish such a beautiful love story ? It’s clean, refreshing and talks of “great” love, even though its the love story of two young children.
The Book Summary – Greatest Love Story
This love story is all about nine year old Callum and his friend Angel Rain. Mr Lamb is a researcher who is studying Callum for his PhD thesis. Callum’s mother is a single mom and she had Callum when she was very young. Her parents also stay with them.
Callum is not only ignored by his teacher at school but is labelled a slow learner. The teaching assistant is kind and encourages Callum at every step. The story is narrated by Callum as part of Mr. Lamb’s research.
From the accidental meeting that brings Callum and Angel Rain together to all their interactions you see the innocence they have, but also their wisdom ! All the other characters like Angel Rain’s parents, Callum’s family, Mr. Lamb and his ex-girlfriend Ifeoma all get life lessons from these two little kids :).
There are some amazing statements in the book for all of us to ponder on. Here are a few of them –
“Bravery does not exist in the animal kingdom.” “Mouse does not stay to fight a cat because it worries about what the other mice will think”.
“You don’t have to be a decent person to do well at school.” (well, that is so true for any kind of success)
My personal favourite – “You should never change for other people, said Mum. If they don’t like you for who you are, they can jog on.”
How easily we typecast children ! See the following statement by Callum and the teaching assistant Miss Hussain’s rebuttal. “I don’t think I’ll ever like books, Miss Hussain, I said. Because I’m a thick special-needs kid. But am pushing on through.” “You should stop calling yourself those name, Callum, said Miss Hussain. They are not true”.
And the researcher getting advice from Callum “You shouldn’t avoid difficult things, Mr. Lamb, said Callum. You should face them.” I wish parents said that to their children :).
The story ends on a sad note … but it’s beautiful to see how Callum does everything to ensure that Angel Rain’s wishes come true. How many adults would do that for their loved ones ?
Finally the last excerpt says it all. This is a statement by Mr. Lamb – “… Much is made of researchers influencing subjects. But few studies consider how subjects influence researchers. My study will be one of those few. And I am very happy to have been influenced by my subject.”
Do read the book – it’s a 5/5. Suzy Quinn – great job getting the book self published. This story had to be told.